Chris Hughton's reputation continues to grow at Birmingham

Chris Hughton has done a remarkable job in difficult circumstances at Birmingham

To say Chris Hughton hasn't had the easiest of starts to his managerial career would be an understatement.

He took the reigns at Newcastle when the club was at its lowest ebb and became Birmingham manager under similar circumstances.

He left Newcastle in a comfortable position in the Premier League after a superb Championship-winning campaign, and they wouldn't be where they are today if it wasn't for Hughton.

Without him, there is a real chance the Magpies would still be in the second tier - or worse.

After their relegation from the Premier League in 2009, not many expected them to bounce straight back, with many established players departing and owner Mike Ashley refusing to replace them.

They infamously lost 6-1 at Leyton Orient in a pre-season friendly - a result which led many to suggest Newcastle were set for back-to-back relegations - yet Hughton somehow salvaged the situation, got his best players performing and took the Championship by storm.

They destroyed all before them in that season before impressing in the Premier League, with a 5-1 thrashing of local rivals Sunderland, 6-0 win against Aston Villa and 1-0 triumph at Arsenal earning Hughton hero status on Tyneside.

He was then ruthlessly sacked, and although many will now look back on the decision to replace him with Alan Pardew as correct, Hughton still deserved much more for his efforts.

The job he took on at Birmingham last summer was arguably even more difficult than the one he had at Newcastle.

With the Magpies, his squad may have been threadbare but it did not lack quality.

It still had the very strong spine of Steve Harper, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll among others, but Hughton had no such luxuries at Birmingham.

He was stripped of almost all of his best players in the summer, including the likes of Craig Gardner, Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, and saw more key players depart in January.

Somehow, he has led his hard-working side to third place in the Championship, within two points of the promotion places, despite an inauspicious start.

Hughton has been working on a shoestring budget at St Andrews and has relied on loan signings and free transfers, so deserves enormous credit for the job he has done.

The likes of Marlon King are spearheading Birmingham's promotion push

Birmingham also had an extremely positive time in the Europa League - despite their group stage exit - and the whole place seems reinvigorated by the club's upturn in fortunes.

That is down to Hughton and his calming influence, and it can only be hoped that he is allowed to see the job through with the Blues, something which was snatched away from him on Tyneside.

He has led Birmingham to a run of 12 games without defeat and they are still in the FA Cup, while their form suggests promotion is a real possibility.

That would be an incredible achievement by Hughton given the chaos of Carson Yeung's ownership. He is certainly the man for a crisis.

The job he has done so far at Birmingham is as good as any other manager in the country has done this season, and it is time Hughton is given the admiration he deserves from everyone in the game.

For some, he is still just a 'coach', but he has now surely proved beyond doubt he is in fact an excellent manager capable of achieving success in any circumstances.

Hughton has got the maximum he possibly could out of his players this season and has now installed a winning mentality at St Andrews, just as he did at St James' Park.

The likes of Nathan Redmond have flourished this season under Hughton's guidance, while the manager has moulded a promotion-challenging team capable of returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Promotion seemed impossible at the start of the season for Birmingham but Hughton looks like he might just make it happen.

It would have been easy for him to turn the job down given the chaos which surrounded the club last summer, but he took a chance and put his reputation on the line by accepting it.

Hughton's managerial career is still in its primitive stage, but he surely couldn't have achieved more than he has done at both Newcastle and Birmingham.

Newcastle fans are enjoying seeing their side in the top five of the Premier League under Pardew, but they have not forgotten the input of Hughton.

They know they wouldn't be in the position they are without him, and he has now underlined his ability as a manager in even more difficult circumstances at Birmingham.

Chris Hughton might be relatively unheralded outside of Newcastle and Birmingham, but all that should be about to change.

If he were to achieve promotion with the Blues, he would have to be recognised as one of the top managers in the country.